No injuries in Katmai National Park plane crash

A pilot and five passengers walked away from a Cessna 206 plane crash Sunday on a bear viewing trip to Katmai National Park. No one was injured in the crash and all were taken back to Homer by other flight services.

According to National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator Brice Banning, the crash happened about 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, when the K-Bay Air plane was taking off from a beach near the Douglas River in Kamishak Bay, about 100 miles southwest of Homer on the west side of lower Cook Inlet. The Cessna was operating on wheels and the plane wound up in the surf, Banning said. Banning said the crash happened while the Cessna was powering up and accelerating down the beach. He did not know how far off the ground the plane had gotten.

Banning interviewed the pilot, and the pilot said that mechanical issues and weather were not factors in the crash.The NTSB is working with the insurance company and K-Bay Air to recover the wreckage of the plane. Banning said the investigation is continuing.

K-Bay Air owners Michael and Dee Hughes confirmed that one of their aircraft had an incident on take off.

“(The) pilot and passengers received no injuries, were happy with their trip, and had no complaints,” they said in an e-mail.

K Bay Air is one of several bear viewing air charter companies flying out of Homer.